I do not believe that defending traditional marriage between one man and one woman excludes anybody or usurps anybody's civil rights and denies anybody their civil rights.

Thousands of years and many civilizations have defined a marriage as the union between one man and one woman. With few exceptions those civilizations that did not follow that perished.

If I felt in the event of a royal wedding inspired to write about people coming together in marriage or civil partnership I would just be grateful to have an idea for the poem. And if I didn't I'd ignore it.

Marriage is sacred and protected and has nothing to do with violating our civil rights.

I rise today in support of Bill C-38 the Civil Marriage Act. I rise in support of a Canada in which liberties are safeguarded rights are protected and the people of this land are treated as equals under the law.

Civil union is less than marriage. Marriage is a sacred and valued institution and ought to be afforded equal protection.

My argument is simple which is that for several thousand years in Western civilization marriage has been the union of one man and one woman. Research is overwhelming that children need mothers and fathers.

Particularly black Americans many of them from quotes that I have seen and conversations I've had are sort of insulted that the civil rights movement is being hijacked - the rhetoric of the civil rights movement is being hijacked for something like same sex marriage. Black Americans tend to have a higher degree of religiosity.

The sad truth is that the civil rights movement cannot be reborn until we identify the causes of black suffering some of them self-inflicted. Why can't black leaders organize rallies around responsible sexuality birth within marriage parents reading to their children and students staying in school and doing homework?

I have no difficulty with the recognition of civil unions for non-traditional relationships but I believe in law we should protect the traditional definition of marriage.